Digitisation Project Manager

About the Role: Since 2010, Findmypast have been has been working with the British Library to digitise their extensive newspaper collection. Through this partnership, Boston Spa has been the home of Findmypast digitisation studio.

The studio is responsible for scanning large volumes of newspaper content from microfilm and hardcopy as well as historical records and registers. Each year the studio produces millions of images, and the Digitisation Project Manager is vital to this workflow.

This Digitisation Project Manager role is based in the British Library building in Boston Spa, west Yorkshire. The normal working hours are 35 hours per week, 9:00am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday. The role reports to the Head of Digitisation and Content Publishing Operations and manages a team of digitisation operatives. The role contributes to the digitisation of newspapers and records, ensuring specific instructions are followed to a high standard and to liaise with partners and other stakeholders.

The appointment of a successful candidate is subject to passing an enhanced background check.

Here’s what the role involves:

Team Management: Lead, motivate, and manage a team of digitisation operatives, ensuring efficient workflow and high-quality output.

Project Coordination: Oversee the digitisation of large volumes of newspaper content and historical records, ensuring adherence to project guidelines and timelines.

Quality Assurance: Implement and maintain quality control processes to ensure digitised content meets high standards of accuracy and clarity.

Relationship Management: Liaise with partners, including the British Library, and other stakeholders to ensure smooth project execution and resolve any issues that arise.

Technical Oversight: Ensure the proper functioning of digitisation equipment, troubleshoot technical problems, and coordinate maintenance and upgrades as necessary.

Operational Scheduling: Balance resources across day and evening shifts to ensure adequate coverage and that project priorities are consistently met.

Reporting: Provide regular reports on project progress, team performance, and any operational challenges to the Head of Digitisation and Content Publishing Operations.

Find your magic with us

Connecting people to their family stories is special. We're proud to deliver these magic moments. Through technology, data and insights, we bring people closer to their past, to benefit their future.

 We’re a fast-growing team of smart people, on a mission to help millions. Solve meaningful, complex problems and be a part of something magical. Enjoy the agility of a scale-up with the security of real financial backing, in a place where every story matters.

Why join our Content Operations team?

1. We’re driven by the desire to create a fantastic customer experience
2. We believe it is an honour to have a role in preserving and discovering people’s history.
3. We love nothing more than taking big data and making it quick and easy for our consumers to use
4. We’re naturally collaborative and our cross functional teams work closely with our colleagues to build / enhance our product
5. We’re neatly set up for flexible working and giving people the freedom to thrive.
6. We have small teams that give you the chance to try out different problems whilst making a real difference to the business
7. We’re a supportive bunch and actively encourage mentorship, peer learning and discussion through our active engineering communities. 

 You won’t find any bureaucracy here, but you will find:

• Generous holiday allowance with the chance to buy more
• A pension contribution that stands out in the market (9.5% matched company contribution with a 6% contribution from the employee's side).

• All the health and wellbeing benefits you’d expect and some you wouldn’t (Careers | Findmypast.com)
• The chance to work with smart and fun people on products that will bring joy to million

Requirements

About you:

Essential skills and experience

• Strong leadership and team management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop staff.
• Demonstrative knowledge of workflows and production in an operational environment.
• High level of attention to detail to ensure the quality and accuracy of digitised content.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with various stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot technical issues and find efficient solutions.
• Proficient in Excel.

 Desirable skills and experience

• Degree in a relevant field such as Information Management, Library Science, History, or similar
• Consideration and respect for history and historical items
• Proven experience in content digitisation/data projects
• An interest in history and archive material
• Proficiency with digitisation equipment and software, including scanners, microfilm readers, and image editing tools.

If you said yes to these, and this all sounds appealing, then get in touch. This could be the start of something special. What to expect next: Our interview process is fast and goes like this:

• First round interview with two members of our Content Operations (1 hour)

• Second round interview with two members of our senior team (1 hour)

We don’t want our approach to hold anyone back, so if we need to tweak this for you, please just ask. Plus we’d love to know your pronouns so please let us know when you apply.

We want Findmypast to be the best company for all our diverse employees and customers. If you’d like a deeper understanding of our commitment to diversity, check out our careers page.

Benefits

We're passionate about making FMP a great place to work and setting people up to succeed. This role is permanent position, working 35 hours per week from our Boston Spa Location. We offer a generous package including 26 Days Holidays + Bank Holidays, health cash plan, corporate gym discounts, excellent pension, a competitive salary, and many more staff discounts and benefits.

We are an equal opportunity employer and want Findmypast to be the best company for all our diverse employees and customers. We encourage applications from everyone and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability status or any other protected characteristics. If you’d like a deeper understanding of our commitment to diversity, check out our careers page. Should you require adjustments to be made to the recruitment process, please let us know and if you’d like to share your pronouns then please do!

If you have any issues with your application, please email [email protected]

Closing date for applications is 25th November 2024

Please note that we reserve the right to close the vacancy early once we have received suitable applications. Therefore, please ensure you submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you are a recruitment agency, please be aware that we're not looking for additional assistance with recruitment. Please do not send us CVs. We will not be responsible for fees related to unsolicited CVs.